Kripa Upadhyay’s practice intersects Immigration, Corporate/Business Law, Foreign Direct Investment, and International Trade Compliance. She has expertise in guiding corporate clients and individual investors through the complex web of laws and regulations related to immigration to the United States.

Her role is to guide clients through issues that arise in the following areas:

Employment Laws:
Ms. Upadhyay routinely advises HR and business leaders on the immigration-related consequences of onboarding and terminating foreign national employees. This includes developing immigration strategies for companies that frequently onboard or transfer employees from jurisdictions outside the U.S. She regularly counsels corporate clients on compliance with Immigration and Department of Labor regulations regarding the employment of foreign nationals in the United States. Additionally, Ms. Upadhyay assists in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure corporations maintain compliance with relevant immigration and labor laws.

Corporate Law:
Ms. Upadhyay advises corporations on various issues that arise for their employees in cases of mergers, sales, or acquisitions of the employing entity. The immigration status of employees and executives can be severely impacted by these activities. Her role is to ensure that all immigration-related issues are addressed and planned for prior to the finalization of any M&A activity.

Trade Compliance:
Ms. Upadhyay routinely works with direct foreign investors to ensure compliance with rules regarding the transfer of funds from foreign jurisdictions. This includes ensuring that third-party advisors involved have the necessary clearances to work as registered and authorized broker-dealers and that investors are cleared in accordance with Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations.

Export Licenses:
Ms. Upadhyay regularly advises corporations on the “deemed export” rule, often encountered in the employment context where a company releases controlled technology or software to a foreign national employee. This applies to foreign nationals working under various U.S. visa options, enabling them to work in the United States.

Mandamus Delay Litigation:
Ms. Upadhyay has successfully challenged lengthy delays in the adjudication of immigration petitions through Mandamus actions. Ms. Upadhyay has spearheaded numerous Mandamus cases, particularly involving I-526 (EB-5 Investor Visa) delays, and played a key role in major class action lawsuits against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). With her extensive experience and deep understanding of immigration law, Ms. Upadhyay is well-positioned to develop winning litigation strategies against both USCIS and the Department of State, addressing a wide range of immigration matters.

Awards and Honors

• Chambers USA, Immigration Law, 2024
• EB5 Magazine as Top 10 Rising Star, 2023
• Washington State Bar Association’s (WSBA) Community Service Award, 2011
• Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine for Immigration Law, 2014 – 2018

Professional Involvement

• Member, AILA’s National committee for EB-5 (investor-based immigration)
• Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association- AILA (Washington State chapter)
  • Chair of Programs, Executive Committee
  • Chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee
  • Vice Chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee
  • Chair, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) Committee
  • Chair, Citizenship Day Committee
  • Vice Chair, Citizenship Day Committee
• Charter Member, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Seattle chapter

Significant Accomplishments
<ul><li>In <strong><em>Shergill v. Mayorkas</em></strong>, Kripa Upadhyay, played a pivotal role as counsel in a groundbreaking class action lawsuit that secured key reforms for nonimmigrant H-4 and L-2 spouses experiencing significant delays in employment authorization processing. The lawsuit successfully overturned a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy, which had previously prevented H-4 spouses from receiving automatic extensions of their work authorization while standalone employment authorization document (EAD) applications were pending. Additionally, the agreement resulted in a major policy shift for USCIS, which now recognizes that L-2 spouses are automatically authorized to work as part of their immigration status. This means spouses of executives and managers no longer need to apply for work authorization before beginning employment in the U.S.</li><li>In <em><strong>Bajaj v. Blinken</strong>,</em> Kripa Upadhyay served as counsel in this significant class action filed in the U.S. Federal Court for the Western District of Washington in February 2022. The lawsuit challenged the U.S. Department of State’s failure to process EB-5 applications following the 2019 lapse in the program’s reauthorization by Congress. During this lapse, no Regional Center could accept new investors until reauthorization. However, the Department of State wrongly halted the consular processing and visa issuance for previously approved I-526 petitions. The lawsuit contested the Department’s misapplication of the law, though it was eventually withdrawn when Congress reauthorized the EB-5 program through the passage of the Reform and Integrity Act of 2022.</li></ul>

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